Red-Hot Scarlett Johansson

With a debut album, two provocative new movies, and an engagement all happening at once, it's safe to say Scarlett Johansson is on a major winning streak. Here, she chats about why timing is the key to making a relationship work, and much more.

Better lean in. Scarlett Johansson is about to reveal the secret of her much-touted sensual power. In her husky alto voice, the 23-year-old says "It's kind of like this," before proceeding to demonstrate the perfect come-hither gaze. She purses her famously pouty lips, drops her chin, and lifts her eyes coyly. But she can only hold the look for about five seconds before dissolving into a fit of laughter.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Sexiness, it turns out, is not something Scarlett takes all that seriously. Acting? You bet. Relationships? Absolutely. Politics? Don't get her started. But, she says, "I don't normally think about being sexy. I think, Do I look presentable? Do I look sane?" As if to make the point, she's shown up to her Cosmo — Cosmo! — interview wearing glasses, an oversize button-down, and flats, her hair swept up into a demure ponytail.

More From Cosmopolitan

But the truth is, even dressed like a schoolteacher, Scarlett has an innate and magnetic sensuality. That quality is on display in this month's Woody Allen comedy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, in which she plays a sexually adventurous American tourist (critics have buzzed about the film, often mentioning her onscreen lip-lock with Penélope Cruz).

In May, she released her first album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, a compilation of Tom Waits cover tunes that showcases her sultry voice. Next up, Scarlett takes on the role of a woman confused about love in a romantic comedy based on the bestselling book He's Just Not That Into You, hitting theaters this October.

Acting since she was 8, Scarlett says she was born to perform. "Inever struggled with trying to figure
out what it was I wanted to do or what made the sparks go for me. I always had that huge laaa aspect to me," she says, belting out the laaa part as if it were a Broadway note and simultaneously waving jazz hands. "I was one of those kids."

It's clear Scarlett feels at home onscreen, even alongside such Hollywood veterans as Robert Redford inThe Horse Whisperer and Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. But her confidence doesn't make her unflappable. While filming Vicky Cristina Barcelona in Spain, hordes of fans and paparazzi crowded Scarlett and her costars, Cruz and Javier Bardem, during outdoor scenes. "It was overwhelming
at times," Scarlett recalls. "Everyday, I'd be like, 'All right, prepare for battle.' "

Her upcoming flick, He's Just Not That Into You, also deals with a battlefield of sorts—the love battlefield. Scarlett says she was attracted to the script because she liked that the female characters "weren't victimized and weren't dainty and cute. It's about the lies you tell yourself to get through the pain of recognizing this person is unavailable." Which begs the question: Has a guy ever been just not that into Scarlett? "Yeah," she says. "And what can you do at the time? It's either they don't want to commit or put in the effort or they're too involved in their own thing."

Scarlett confesses that she has been the emotionally unavailable one at times too. "You don't always meet the right person at the right time. It's important for people to figure out their own lives before involving someone else—to gauge where you are and work on your own issues."

Recently, Scarlett got the relationship timing just right—she and actor Ryan Reynolds, 31, announced their
engagement in early May. And now that she's ready to walk down the aisle, Scarlett is quick to clarify a comment she once made about people not being monogamous by nature. "I don't think it's a natural instinct for human beings, but it doesn't mean I don't believe in monogamy or true love," she says. "I believe in finding a soulmate. I've always been in monogamous relationships. I would never want to be in an open one. It'd be too awful. Monogamy can be hard work for some people. I don't think it applies to everybody, and I don't think a lot of people can do it."

When asked about Ryan, Scarlett prickles a bit, saying, "I always hate these questions because they make me feel queasy, and I hate feeling like I have to share my personal life with anybody. So, I'll take the normal celebrity route and just say I'm going to keep my personal life private. But I'm very, very happy."

Obviously, a wedding is in Scarlett's future, but in the meantime, her life goals are "to be a good person, to follow my passion, and to expand my mind." And no doubt she'll use every weapon in her arsenal—confidence, laser-beam focus, and an unparalleled ability to seduce.